D4-Qatar World Qualifiers 2022 : The Squirrels defeated at home

A very bad surprise. Les Ecureuils du Bénin after winning all three points on Thursday 7 last October at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium of Dar Es Salam lost on the same score at home (0-1) facing the Taifa Stars of Tanzania. A meeting counting for the fourth day of the qualifiers for the Qatar World Cup 2022

The Squirrels of Benin resume with their bad habits. Unbeaten at the Stade de l'Amitié Général Mathieu Kérékou in Kouhounou for six years, Michel Dussuyer and his foals fell this Sunday 10 October 2021 in the trap of the Tanzanians, more conquering and realistic. A bad start to the match sanctioned by a goal in the first half : little envy and an opponent who knows how to take advantage of it with impeccable accuracy. Indeed, the repeated gestures of Olivier Verdon in the first quarter of an hour to ask for movement and those of David Kiki or Khaled Adénon to claim the ball are very symptomatic of an evening when Dussuyer perhaps chose his system and made a bad casting of men to animate it.

Car, in this 3-4-3, the Benin team did not exist for almost the entire first period. And the Taifa Stars did not pray on their first scoring opportunity. Saïmon Msuva recovers a ball in Benin's thirty meters, pass Verdon with a favorable counter before beating, on a dry strike, Saturnin Allagbè (1-0, 6’). Despite this approximate game, the Squirrels still had a few opportunities to come back in the match, especially on this free kick from Jordan Adéoti for the Verdon header well captured by Aishi Manula or this opportunity from Gomez in the Tanzanian six meters who chose to strike at the near post rather than to give the pass to his teammate in a good position to score. Even David Kiki had the chance to score but his strike was deflected by the Tanzanian goalkeeper (45’).

We have to wait for the 56th minute with the entry of Junior Olaïtan and a return to a 4-4-2 to see the Benin team played better and have more opportunity, especially with Mounié (58’), Then (60’And 72’). A tactic turned more forward but weighed down by a lack of realism of a nightmarish evening. Sadness took hold as the tactical battle between Michel Dussuyer and Kim Pulsen turned to the advantage of the Dane. Result, after the first leg victory, the Beninese team concede their first defeat in this qualifying campaign. A real stopper. And for good reason the squirrels thus lose at the same time the first place of the group. But all is not lost. The Beninese coach and his foals have two more games to raise their heads. It is enough to regulate the automatisms not to fail.

Meeting satisfaction

Only satisfaction of the meeting, the audience of the General Mathieu Kérékou Friendship Stadium in Kouhounou. We feared clashes but he accompanied his team until the final whistle. He even resumed in chorus with the fanfare of the National Council of Supporters of Benin., the national anthem of Benin during the meeting, history of stimulating Khaled Adénon and his teammates to return to the score. All these beautiful people took communion in great impetus until we came to the point: the result on the lawn and its sad reality.

Damien TOLOMISSI